The British Coatings Federation (BCF) was awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the 2015 Trade Association Forum Excellence Awards (TAF) in London on July 9.
The BCF received the award for its Minutes Matter campaign, which aims to create a national network of 2,500 defibrillator stations in red phone boxes, in rural locations across the UK over the next 5 years.

Following a cardiac arrest the chances of survival drop dramatically every minute. The UK Resuscitation Council recommends that a defibrillator should be available when medical treatment is more than five minutes away, which would include most rural locations in the UK.

So far, over 150 phone boxes have been converted, with British Coatings Federation members supplying free paint to renovate the phone boxes to their former glory, as well as creating a valuable new use for what are an important part of our cultural heritage.

Run in partnership with BT and the Community HeartBeat Trust (CHT), and the latest stage of the campaign encourages MPs to get involved by nominating a community within their constituency, with successes recognised on the Minutes Matter website (www.minutesmatter.org.uk), which has recently been launched following the elections in May.

BCF chief executive officer Tom Bowtell said of the accolade: "While we are thrilled to have received this award. This CSR campaign has only been made possible by the huge generosity of our members. We are determined to push on, and together with BT and the Community Heartbeat Trust, to encourage local communities to make a difference to the emergency service response provided to rural parts of the country."

The BCF, which represents the manufacturers of decorative and industrial paints, powder coatings, printing inks and wallcoverings, is one of over 300 trade associations who are members of Trade Association Forum.

The BCF's Tom Bowtell and Ali Brown (centre) receive TAF's 2015 CSR Award